Te Ope Kaatua o Aotearoa

Three Services as one force, being the best in everything we do

New Zealand Campaign Medals - The New Zealand Service Medal 1946 - 1949

Obverse View

Reverse View

About the New Zealand Service Medal 1946-1949

The New Zealand Service Medal 1946-1949 was instituted in 1995 to recognise New Zealand military personnel who served in the occupation forces in Japan between March 1946 and March 1949. In 2002 the Royal Warrant was amended to also recognise service between September 1945 and March 1946, including service by the crews of HMNZ Ships Gambia and Achilles in Japanese waters.

Since 1995 this medal has been issued to over 4,700 veterans or their families. About 13,000 New Zealanders, including several hundred women, are eligible for this medal. To receive this medal eligible persons, or their families, should apply to the Medals Office.

Fifteen New Zealand military personnel were killed in accidents or died of sickness in Japan during the occupation.

For informative discussions of service by New Zealanders in Japan between September 1945 and March 1949 see:

Laurie Brocklebank, Jayforce: New Zealand and the Military Occupation of Japan 1945-48, Auckland: Oxford University Press, 1997.

Engraving

The New Zealand Service Medal 1946-1949 was issued unengraved until 30 June 2009. From 1 July 2009 this medal has been issued engraved on the bottom rim. For military personnel, the recipient's service number, rank, initials, surname, and corps / Service are engraved. These details are as at the date of the service which qualified him or her for the medal.

Note: Recipients of an unengraved New Zealand Service Medal 1946-1949 should contact the Medals Office if they wish their medal to be engraved. The best opportunity to have your medal engraved is when you need to add another medal (such as the New Zealand Defence Service Medal) to your mounted medal group.